Writer: John Broome

Penciller: Mike Sekowsky

Inker: Bernard Sachs

Synopsis: Star Hawkins excitedly tells Ilda that the two of them will be accepting a job and vacation offer from Drj Mjr, head of the Asteroid Tourist Bureau, to stay at the luxurious Hotel Milky Way while trying to find a mysterious asteroid bomber. When the two get to the hotel, they discover that the hotel has a policy of not allowing robots, who are generally considered servants. Star threatens to drop the case if Ilda isn't allowed in the hotel, but she tells him she doesn't mind, and Star decides to stay, leaving Ilda, who's weatherproof, to stay outdoors. While Star enjoys himself with a female guest, Ilda researches the asteroids and discovers that many of them contain a precious, and healthful (when dissolved in water) metal called Xanthu. Suddenly, her head-flashlight begins acting as an antenna and she hears some people talking about "pulling a job." Suspecting criminal activity, she traces the voices, but the criminals see her coming, ambush her, and rig her to detonate an explosive device on their signal. Ilda, overhearing their plans for her, tries to telepathically contact Star, but is unable to due to the fact that Star is so preoccupied with his new lady friend. She them gets the idea to project an image of herself at Star, which causes the lady to stop dancing with him. He deduces that Ilda needs him and finds her. She explains the situation, and Star captures the would-be bombers before they escape the asteroid. Later, he disconnects Ilda from the bomb and shows Drj Mjr how the bombers had intended to blow up the asteroid in order to get large amounts of Xanthu from it. The grateful Drj allows Ilda to stay at the hotel, officially changing the hotel's no-robots policy.

Notes: It is unknown if the planet Xanthu which is the home world of several members of the Legion of Super-Heroes is named for the metal named in this story.

Detective rating: Pure luck that the bombers were on the same asteroid as Star and Ilda, and wild luck that Ilda's flashlight (!) picked up their conversation, leading to their use of Ilda and eventual downfall, but they did take the case knowing that the possibility of being on the same asteroid as the bombers existed. 2 on a scale of 1 to 10.

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